It’s Meatless Monday and today, we’re all about tofu. One thing I especially love about tofu is its ability to take on the flavors of the other ingredients. Tofu is much more than a meat substitute. It’s an amazing ingredient to work with and once you get over any resistance, you’ll come to love it for its own merits. A simple marinade will completely alter the taste of your tofu and giving it a decadent walnut crust takes it over the top.
It’s not necessary, but recommended to press your tofu before slicing it. Pressing the tofu compacts it and makes it firmer while retaining a lot of the creaminess. Some people freeze tofu in order to further change the texture to something with a little more “chew.” Both methods help the marinade penetrate the tofu for better flavor.
This will take about an hour to make from start to finish including the pressing time and a short marination period. In order to help the walnut crust stick to the tofu, we’re going to use mayonnaise. If you prefer, make this totally vegan by using a vegan mayonnaise like I did. After the tofu is coated, pop it into the oven to bake for about 30 minutes. Serve it over a simple salad as shown or with your favorite grain.
Ingredients
- 1 12 ounce block tofu drained, pressed and sliced
- 1/4 cup tamari gluten free soy sauce
- 1/4 cup vegan mayonnaise
- 2/3 cup chopped walnuts
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Place the tofu on a shallow plate and cover with the tamari, turning to coat both sides. Marinate for at least five minutes.
- In the meantime, prepare the walnut crust but pulsing the walnuts, garlic and onion powder in a food processor until well blended and finely chopped. Place the walnuts in a thin layer on another shallow plate.
- Remove the tofu from the marinade and coat thinly with the vegan mayonnaise then press into the walnut mixture to coat.
- Arrange on a small baking tray and repeat until all the tofu is coated.
- Bake for 20 minutes on one side, then flip and bake for another 20 minutes or so.
Once you learn the basic method, feel free to experiment. Use orange juice, liquid aminos or apple cider vinegar for the marinade. Instead of mayonnaise use sour cream, mustard, maple syrup or salad dressing. Crust with herbs, bread crumbs, other chopped nuts, seeds, you get the idea.
ON TO THE PARTY!
Meatless Mondays was created to inspire people to go without meat one day a week. Click here to read more about it on their website. To that end, I’ve teamed up with Christie from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures and Mary from Mary’s Kitchen to bring you a month long link party dedicated to Meatless Monday offerings.
We hope you find something you and your family will love. If you have a meatless recipe you’d like to share, please link up. The party is open all month long and the links are randomized so everyone has a chance to be featured at the top.
These items were mentioned in the post and are available by the case from Amazon. Did you know if you’re a memeber of Amazon Prime you can have pantry items shipped to your door for a flat fee? Click here for more information about Amazon Prime Pantry
This turned out really well. I was surprised how nice it looked as well as tasted. I couldn’t get the walnuts to stick to both sides but that didn’t matter. I piled them on top and the tofu became chewierround the bottom edge which is nice for a vegan where not much is chewy. We had it with broccoli and cauliflower cheese ( vegan sauce made with nutritional yeast and turmeric etc). Lovely. Thank you.
I am a vegetarian and love to try new recipes. This one sounds like it is worth every step! Thank you.
Thank you! Please let me know how it turns out for you 🙂